Ruined

Ruined #1

by Rachel Hanna

Ruined is a New Adult novel full of romance, angst and tons of emotion.

Willow Blake has a secret. A big one. And when she and her mother move cross country to protect that secret, her guard is up to protect her heart.

When she meets handsome Reed Miller, she feels her walls start tumbling down and the fear is overwhelming. If he finds out her secret, will he hate her forever?

Just when she thinks things are settling down, a new house guest makes her second guess everything she knows to be true about who she is and what she wants.

Caught between her past life and her new one - and two sexy men - will choose to be alone or fight for her own happiness?

Genres: New Adult, Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, College, M F Romance

226 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 17, 2013

About the author

Hey there! Before I tell you all about myself, can I invite you to join my private Rachel's Readers Facebook group? That's where my readers hang out, discuss my books, participate in giveaways and learn about new releases.

You can join us here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Rache...

So who am I? My name is Rachel Hanna, and I am a wife, mother of three incredible kids (maybe I am a BIT biased?), two lovable doggies and one cat that lives outside and thinks he owns the world. Okay, I also have a gecko now too. Don't judge me.

I started writing as a young child, and I went into the field of Journalism for many years as an adult. Now, as a romantic fiction writer, I get to live out my own daydreams every single day and share them with readers around the world!

I'm a Southern chick living near Atlanta, so I say "yes, ma'm" and "ya'll", but I wouldn't have it any other way. :)

Reviews

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Face Your Past Stars



Oprah says everyone has a story. A wise woman once said "Pasts and Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one and nobody cares about anybody else's" Oh wait...that was me. I said that.



This sign should be preinstalled in every home built. Doesn't everyone has some crazy in the family? A Cousin Frankie who answers the door naked. We're all just a little bit crazy. Some more than others. But every family has a story, a past, something would rather not be on the front page of the news.

Willow thinks she is the only one. She thinks she is the only person with a past to hide. With secrets to keep. She thinks that has ruined her. She and her mom have moved across the country and restarted their life. Her mom met a new guy, a new rich guy, and Willow is starting college. Just like everyone else...on the surface.

They say that time heals everything, but I don't see how the simple ticking of the clock can heal a damn thing. It sure hasn't done that for me. May I need a new watch.

Reed is the cute boy who sits by her in class. He runs the college TV station. He is smart, good looking, driven and interested in Willow. But he has his own past. His dad is controlling and Reed is trying to break away. He wants Willow to share whatever he sees hidden in her eyes. To let go.

Control is the only thing hold my soul together.

Kellen is the step-brother she never knew she had. It appears her step-father has been keeping some secrets of his own. Kellen is coming to live with them after getting out of prison. Whaaa? Prison? What happened there? Why hasn't her seemingly perfect step-father mentioned this before? Could other people have skeletons in their closets too? And Kellen...buff, angry, tattooed, emotional tortured...instantly attracted to Willow.

As Willow helps others learn to forgive themselves, she still can not give herself that same consideration. Can she help those around her without helping herself?

...my past clings to me like quicksand. The harder I try to climb out and away from it, the tighter it grasps me and pulls me back down.

I have read a few of Ms Hanna's previous works. I liked this one the best of all of them. The characters connect and leap off the page. Willow has a great sarcastic voice. Reed is so nice. So ready to help Willow move on. Kellen is brooding, damaged and you just want to sooth him. There are great lines, interesting twists and heartwarming forgiveness. If nothing else you can focus on someone else's crazy for a while. Just don't drop by Cousin Frankie's without calling first.

[Irene · Rating 4 out of 5]

I finished this book with tears in my eyes and overall enjoyed Willow's story. You see Willow has been through a terrible experience, bad enough that she has to uproot from her hometown with her Mother and move away where no one knows her. Settled into a new life with her Mother and Stepfather she tries to cope with the nightmare she has to carry with her. We then meet Reed and Kellen, both have their own issues to face up to. In turn we follow Willow's emotional journey that has repercussions for all of them.
All in all a fantastic read dealing with some serious issues with a couple of hot men added to the mix. Win win for me.

[Michell Hall casper · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by Rachel Hanna.

This book was filled with so much loss, heartache, hope, forgiveness and love. The storyline was amazing you couldn't help but get caught up in the book. I don't want to give anything away all I can say is this is a must read. I look forward to reading more of Rachel's books.

[Stevie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Perfect for a beach or Sunday hammock read. This is my first read from this author and I do like her style. She tells the story with emotion and sagacity that fits perfectly to draw the reader into the mindset of the female lead's story telling. RH gave Willow the perfect combination of her age and her aged experience in her voice. I like the pull between the two love interests and the fact that the author created two completely different but equally attractive characters in Reed and Kellan. The story is fairly short but has enough intensity and interest to pull it off. I do feel there was some incompleteness to it however. The ending is very abrupt and there were some lose ends that could have been tied before it finished. Em reveals her dark secret which was rather big but it just pops in and is dropped like it was just meant as filler. Reed doesn't know what his father pulled and I wasn't satisfied with that or the rushed HAE ending. Which is why it would only work as a quickie and not something more for me. And it really could have been/should have been more. The potential was there, but the author let it slip into a light read with less impact than it could have had.

[Michelle]

FLASH SALE on RUINED through this weekend only! Pass the word around! 99 cents.
http://www.amazon.com/Ruined-ebook/dp...

[♡ Jeri's Book Attic ♡ Jeri the Romance Bibiliophile ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

[Alicia Huxtable · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfectly Ruined

An up and down feel good read that has you not knowing which bit she should be with. Great read

[Amy H · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!! this book is amazing, and I have no idea why I had it sitting on my kindle for this long and not read it!!!


This story is a love triangle, sort of..lol it is also based on secrets...


Willow Blake is living a lie. Why you ask?!! She did something when she was 15 years old. Her mother packed up all of their things and moved across the country. She was suppose to start over. She is in college now. How does one get over killing someone?! Her mother finally got married. she was married to a wealthy real estate man. They moved to his beach house. They were now rich.

Willow is in college for journalism. She wants to make sure people know the real story, and not make other people look like monsters. Everything was going good until she saw this man walk in late to class. Their was no seats left, so he was stuck being her math buddy. This hot guy followed her home, and started to yell her name. Willow asked him how he knew her name. He said that he had his sources. She quickly found out this man is Reed Miller. Head of the television department at school, and where she applied to internship at. Reed and Willow quickly hit it off, and he began asking her all the time to help him in the editing department. Things started to turn steamy when they both started flirting.
Willow started to put her walls up because she does not do friendship. She cannot let people in. If they knew her secret they will hate her. She was living in her own prison.... Reed knew something was wrong, and he was going to find out what kind of secret this girl was hiding.
Back at home Willow gets dump a bomb of news. Her step father had a son! he was getting out of prison. He did a 5 year term and was now on probation, and going to start over. Her step father was still angry with his son, and you can feel the tension. will was excited and nerves about meeting this kid. One, day after school Willow finds out that her new step brother was the same ass-hat that treated her like dirt on the beach! After some conversation they found out they had a lot in common. Willow quickly started to like Kellen. She felt like they both were ruined and could help each other..

Now here is where it gets good... Willow likes both reed and Kellen. Reed tells willow that Kellen is no good for her, and Reed can give her anything that she wants. On the other hand Kellen is a recovering and she fells like she needs to heal with him because they both are dealing with the same things. Meanwhile when someone black mails Willow she has no choice in who she wants to be with, but will it be to late?

[*Marsha,Marsha,Marsha* It's always Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this and found it to be an okay to good read. I'm not sure if I can put into words my misgivings but I will try.

We are introduced to Willow who has a "huge secret" - such a huge secret that she and her mom left and moved across the country and gave Willow a "new" name. Of course as the story progresses, I tried to predict and came fairly close before the "big" reveal. What bothered me was that the big reveal gave me pause as to why Willow was the one "ruined." I did not feel as if enough depth was devoted into their background story. I also had questions about why no one had ever thought to get Willow "help" to deal with her issue.

Willow and her mother, now married to a very wealthy man, have started over and Willow is so scared that someone will "find out" that she doesn't even apply for a driver's license in order to protect her identity.

Fairly quickly, as college starts, Reed, a good looking journalism major enters the picture and the reader begins to feel that this is the "romance" that will develop. But that is not the case.

But all of a sudden, Kellen is thrown into the mix. He is Bruce's 23 yr old son who is being released from prison due to a tragic drunk driving accident as a 17 yr old. He returns home to hatred from his father, a new step sister he finds hot, and a step mother who wants them all to be happy.

What we end up with is pretty much a story about forgiveness. And that part of the story was sweet and well handled. What I found frustrating was the lack of character development at times. So much more could have been developed about Willow and her mother's past; Kellen obviously could have had more depth given to his character through inner thoughts.

I would have loved to have seen much more of the development between Kellen and Willow. I felt cheated that we did not have more heat and perhaps buildup.

My other issue: The part of Reed's father being thrown in and nothing be addressed about his behavior irked me. He needed to be outed for his behavior towards Willow.

Overall, this is 3 star read for me. I read it, liked it okay, and it's a quick, easy read. The forgiveness aspect is well done and the focus of the story. And there is a message there for all of us.

[Anna Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think I've ripped on another Rachel Hanna book, before, now that I've read 26% of this crap and recognize her 'voice'. It's just as terrible as the last one.

Willow (Blake - Hanna uses all generic last names, like 'Blake' and 'Miller') is a talentless, brainless, witless wonder. She's got some *dark* secret that supposedly keeps her away from everyone, but the first guy she meets, she's already off to a coffee hook-up with, so there goes THAT out the window. Luckily and way-too-ironically, he's JUST the guy she needs to meet: he's in charge of the on-campus TV station where she wants to intern. Because she's hawt, he hires her on the spot, no questions asked, no background looked into, and even with her cutting out to have a panic attack in the middle of their tete-a-tete. He asks no questions. Great go-to TV guy, there.

Willow, the epitome of awesome, decides to get drunk at a beach party instead of showing up for her first night at the TV station, but s'okay, s'alright... no big. (?!?!?) He just shows up and takes her home for the night, and her mother (who is keeping THE SECRET) isn't going to have a problem with that, right?

Our oh-so-wonderful heroine has the conscientiousness of a gnat - No phone call home, no nothing. Lovely girl! On top of that, he doesn't even FIRE her for ditching her first night! Oh, but he's VERY serious about his TV station. Riiiiiight. The story is just SO unreal and badly written, already, and I haven't even GOTTEN to the ex-con stepbrother part.

And at least three times the tense changed from past to present. The characters are one-dimensional and illogical and the whole thing - even by chapter six - just sucked SO BAD that I deleted from device.

Note to Self: Lousy writer, steer clear.

[CasPerfitz~SLiTsReaD · Rating 4 out of 5]

(review also posted here : http://wp.me/p3NHjQ-ed and here : https://www.facebook.com/SLiTsReaD)


"Life is sure isn't fair.... but life is for the living and to shut down when things get tough - even really tough - is a waste of this precious time we have."







It starts kinda slow for me.... Willow and her mom starting a new life with her mom marrying someone rich and never talked about what happened before that. Then Willow meets Reed in one of her class and find him hot in a country club look kinda way.... Though Reed sounds hot, I was not getting their chemistry....

But when Kellan entered the scenario, now it got interesting, now I'm feeling the chemistry.







This is a beautiful story about consequences... on drinking and driving, drugs... about abuse and more but most of all, about forgiveness. No hot steamy sex scene here ladies... so don't expect any...

[Davy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the book was okay. I couldn't really feel any connections between Willow and Reed or Willow and Kellan for that matter. The whole love triangle felt forced. Willow's war within herself whether she should be with Reed because he's the obvious choice. The good guy with a bright future and then there's Kellan, the bad boy, no, the convict, can't get more bad boy than that, who won't amount to anything because of his past. Not to forget, Willow has her own secret past that she can't let go and keeps pushing that terrible incident way way back. She doesn't know how to forgive herself, but Kellan understands and they have that in common, so the convict wins Willow's heart.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really disappointed with this book. My mother recommended it because she knows that I like broken men. I really had a bad feeling when 34% into the book and I had not even met the main male character. I also felt unfulfilled by the ease and acceptance that Kellan got from EVERYONE but his dad. There was no real angst, no real dilemmas, no real anything. I didn't get any chemistry from Willow and Reed or from Willow and Kellan.

Overall, a supreme disappointment.

[Christy Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW! This is a story about how choices we make when young can forever change our futures. Not at all what I expected but I am so glad I read it. Willow, Reed and Kellan taught me the value of forgiveness.

[Joy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a good read but i think there could of been more...more story, more depth, more something. Overall though it was a nice read.

[Tiffany Readz · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I love the steamy, sexy romances, this was one of those books that was so well written I didn't miss the sexy at all. Ruined is a solid story of forgiveness with a couple of hot guys to break up the seriousness every few pages.

Willow Blake has a past, a very bad past that her and her mother have run away from four years ago. Her mother has remarried a wealthy man and Willow is now in college, life should be good for her, but it isn't. Although she has run from her past, Willow can't get it out of her head or her heart. Working on her Journalism degree, Willow meets Reed, the head of the college tv station. He is everything she could want, but nothing she fees she deserves. Willow and Reed become friends, although he wants more, something she just can't seem to make herself give. He decides to give her some time and that is when Kellan swoops in and changes everything.

Kellan is Willow's stepdad's son, fresh from a five year stint in prison and looking to move on from his past. Due to his past, Willow feels an instant connection to Kellan, as he is ruined also. She can understand where he is coming from mentally and tries to help him move on from his past.

The whole Willow, Reed and Kellan thing starts to get complicated and secrets have to be revealed if choices are going to be made. Any more and I will be spoiling the story, however I really enjoyed this story, the characters were well-developed and the writing was solid.

[Breeze · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm giving it 3 stars because there really wasn't anything wrong with the writing or the flow or the characters. However, this was one boring story!!
My heart strings were pulled only slightly by Kellan's story. Willow's story had no suspense for the reader; no build up for us to want, need, flip ahead to know "what's the secret"?? then, it seemed unexplained, we deserved a deeper explanation on a lot of levels! A teacher, good man just doesn't become a substance abuser over night and beat his family! without some deeper sense of her families past I felt we were left in the shallow end of this pool of feelings.
She is healing from the effects of a terrible father yet the boy who shows her a tremendous respect and patience and who is living with a terrible father; she lets him leave based on a huge, life altering lie! I think this book is YA and if you wanted tension in your heart for two boys loving the same girl, wanted some real push and pull, wanted turmoil for Willow, wanted not to be able chose as the reader between Kellan and Reed because you are loving both of them, wanted more depth well......this story will ruin that for you.
This was way to fluffy for me and after reading The Opportunist and The Sea of Tranquilty I'm not comparing but the heartache and depth the reader is taken too makes this story look.....unfinished.
boring!

[Emma Pocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow all I can say is wow!!!
This story blew my mind. I just couldn't put the book down once I started literally. Finished the book 5minutes again and am now writing my thoughts on the book at 2:36am with my husband snoring and talking in his sleep next to me :).

This book was one of the most emotional books I have read in a long time. I means it's seriously full of emotional torment of two souls that have been through accidents in there life's that have changed them so dramatically in a split second. Accidents that I true believe were both our of there control, yes including Kellan accident.
Personally experiencing the loss of two life's from motor vehicle, one of which was a victim of a reckless drive and another from a tragic motorcycle accident that no one will ever know have it happen. Which is why I believe I can make this statement even though not every one will agree with me

I totally agree that you have to learn to forgive before you can heal the wounds on all levels.

[Brianna · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars for three reasons, it was simple, happy and easy. I mean that in both appositive and negative way. I will be the first to admit I like any easy read, but in this case when you add the extreme simplicity and predicability of the plot line, we'll.... Then you get three stars. Basically girl meets boy, girl has a secret, girl meets another boy ad boy learns her secret. There is a basic love triangle but really not too much angst. Overall,I did give this book 3 stars ask did overall enjoy it, I just found. Yield wanting more. More conversations, more drama, more connections with the characters and more.... Just more. Not a bad book, but not a life changer either.

[Cassie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This wasn't bad. Not a great read but not terrible. For $0.99 you can't really go wrong.

The story was super rushed, too simple, and a bit too predictable at times. Unfortunately Willow spends more than half of the book talking about her big secret--all her inner dialogue is about how no one will accept her for it and unfortunately that was a huge turn off for this book. Add some suspense and allude to it but damn it was in your face the whole time.

The boys in this story were great but I would have loved to see them with more depth. They were typical and easy to predict.

Not a bad read, not a fave.

[D.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want more! This book was amazingly written. I felt drawn into Willow's life. She made me laugh, feel frustrated, angry, but it ended leaving me not quite having my fill. It felt rushed, well written, but rushed. I felt there could have been a little more drama between Willow, Reed and Kellan. Not to mention the fact that Reed's father was manipulating the situation. Reed gave up to easily and Willow could have had a little more conflict pulling her between the both of them. But I have to say I loved Willow's quirky and snide comments. Those I loved most of all about this story. My first book by this author, but won't be my last.

[Terri Markham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willow Blake is living with a secret, one that dictates how she is living every moment of her life. She doesn't believe that she deserves a second chance at happiness. Kellan Avery's mistake is no secret, and he intends to take his second chance for all it's worth, if only the person he needs in his corner most could lean to forgive him. What these two characters end up providing for each other is not what either one could have anticipated. Even though this story was on the shorter side, Hanna is able
to portray real, heartfelt emotions that kept me turning the pages. 167 pages on my Nook, and I would highly recommend this book.

[Secretly Adorkable Readers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Willow Blake has a secret, a secret that destroyed her the day she chose to fight for her life, to save her and her mom. A secret that also took someone else she loved away from her and now her and her mom move cross country to protect not only their secret but a new life takes place.

Willow will meet Reed Miller, her new boss. Things start to fall into place and feelings come to light until she runs into her new stepbrother. Little does she know that her and her new roomie have a little something in common. Will Willow ever find her happiness and let her guard down to let someone in or will she stay caught in between her past life and new one-including two sexy men.

[Nikea Scarbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an ok read, not enough passion for me in our out of the bedroom. Classic good guy versus bad guy choice. I wonder had she really had the option would she had made the same choice?

I liked Reed, well mannered bad boy in his own right but Kellen was just an arse lol he made me want to slap his face and then hug him lol.

3 stars for a good story line but it lacked steamy passion and I found myself reading another book at the same time. A good book will keep you turning pages, I turned these pages just to finish the book.

[Prisdary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Que puedo decir, es hermosa, simplemente hermosa, cualquiera cree que leera una novela erotica y para nada, es todo lo contrario, nos encontramos con unos personajes hermosos que nos ensenan algo y totalmente real, cosas que pueden pasarle a cualquiera y que de una manera drastica cambia su vida. Felicidades a la autora pero este hermoso libro. Me hizo reflexionar mucho acerca de algunas situaciones por las que he pasado en estos ultimos tiempo y me ha ayudado a comprender que no importa las situaciones lo podre superar.

Recomendado.

[Natasha Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok so not one to moan but what started as as great read left me feeling meh,I loved the story line don't get me wrong the story of forgiveness but I felt the book was rather messy and rushed the ending happened so quickly in one chapter and was very predictable.Was a good read but by 70% I was bored I love chemistry and a little bit of naughtiness this didn't happen till about 90% in so not my cup of tea.

[Sherry Haynes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ruined is all about second chances. Second chances aren't always about starting over with others but also about starting over within ourselves. That is what Willow has to accomplish in order to go on with life after struggling over her past. Starting with lowering the walls she has built around her heart. Which will be able to break the barrier down? The good boy or the bad boy? Definitely need to read to find out and why she chose as she did.

[Mg ♥ The Bookishmedialite · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un libro que se lee rápido, con una historia con un buen mensaje relacionado con el valor y el poder del perdón; los personajes me parecieron interesantes, pero a mi punto de vista hizo falta algo, no podría decir que fue, per aún cuando ambos protas me gustaron y la historia tenía propósito, no mas no logre conectar con ella.

Le doy 3 stars porque considero que el problema aquí fui yo, no la historia.

Me da curiosidad ver como le va a Reed, así que pensare si me leo su historia!

[Dayna R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It was so well written and had such a great flow. Willow has a hidden secret that she's had to run from. Reed is the passionate TV station manager going against his father's wishes. Kellen is the man just looking for redemption for a horrible mistake made 5 years ago. What a love triangle?! I'm not usually one for the love triangle but it was written in such a way that it was realistic. I enjoyed it so much I bought the second book immediately after finishing this one!

[Christin · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really hate to say what a disappointment this book was, but it really was. the only characters that made sense was willow and Kellan, this girl Emmy pops up and it is just weird, there is no connect between the characters and then willows relationship with Reed or lack there of. Unfortunately this had potential and still could if cleaned up.